Hinge construction for toilet seats



Sept. 28, 1948. J SPERZEL 2,450,209

HINGE CONSTRUCTION FOR TOILET SEATS Filed June 28, 1946 fave/Zia," P526) J sfa rz E ZXAZZ07W69J Z9 27 7/ r Patented Sept. 28, 1948 2,450,209 HINGE CONSTRUCTION FOB TOILET SEATS Peter J. Sperzel, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to Sperzel Company, Minneapolis, Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Application June 28, 1946, Serial No. 680,263

' 3 Claims.

My invention relates to a novel friction hinge construction for the conventional toilet bowl, seat and cover combination, and is in the nature of a modification of and improvement upon my invention disclosed and broadly claimed in my Patent 2,448,330, issued August 31, 1948.

The particular objects and advantages of my present invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, attached drawings and appended claims.

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view partly in top plan view and partly in horizontal section showing a modified form of my invention.

Referring with greater particularity to the drawings, the numeral I indicates a conventional toilet bowl having a rearwardly projecting shelf 2. Immediately overlying bowl I is a conventional seat 3 and overlying seat 3 is a cover 4. Seat 3 is shown as being provided with a pair of bumpers 3a and the cover with a pair of rubber bumpers 4a.

Shown as resting on shelf 2, and supported thereby, are a pair of laterally spaced hinge brackets 5 and 6, each having spaced, upwardly projecting walls 5a and 6a respectively and aligned apertures I and 8. Brackets 5 and 6 are shown as being in the form of cups for purposes of sanitation and protection of the parts covered thereby and may be made of plastic, metal or any other desirable material. However, from a functional point of view brackets 5 and 6 could just as well be open at their upper ends, upwardly opening notches being substituted for apertures 1 and 8. Aperture I, while concentric, as above stated, with aperture 8, is of greater diameter, for a purpose which will hereinafter become obvious.

Seat 3 is provided at its rear portion with a pair of laterally spaced hinge lugs 9 and i0, each of which is in close proximity to the outer walls 511 and 6a of the hinge brackets 5 and 6 respectively. The cover 4 is provided with a depending hinge flange l l which is adapted to fit loosely between the opposed inner walls 5a and 6a of the hinge brackets 5 and 6 respectively. Secured fast to the hinge flange H is a horizontally disposed hinge pin in the nature of a tubular sleeve l2 which preferably, and as shown, is flush with one end of the hinge flange H and at the other side has a projecting portion l2a. which extends through the large aperture 1 in hinge bracket 5 and is journalled therein.

A horizontally disposed hinge pin i3 is journalled for rotation within tubular bearing sleeve l2 and has its opposite ends l3a and I31) secured in hinge lugs 9 and Ill respectively by means of screws, or the like, M, which also serve to anchor the hinge lugs 9 and [0 to the seat 3. Adjacent the end [3b, the shaft I3 is journalled in the small aperture 8 of the hinge bracket 6.

An anchoring bolt l5, having a threaded lower end [6 and a downwardly opening hook I! at its extreme upper end, is shown as projecting downwardly through an opening in the shelf 2. The upper end of anchoring bolt I5 extends upwardly between the spaced walls 5a of hinge bracket 5 v and has its upper end I! hooked over the extended portion l2a of the tubular sleeve l2. The lower end l6 of anchoring bolt [5 is provided with a tensioning nut or burr l3. Interposed between burr l8 and the under surface of shelf 2 is a coil spring l9, which, for the purpose of protection and sanitation, is shown as being covered, at least in part, by a pair of matching moisture proof cups 20.

Laterally spaced from clamping bolt l5 and passing downwardly through an opening in shelf 2 is an anchoring bolt 2|, similar in all respects to the anchoring bolt I5, and having a threaded lower end 22 and a downwardly opening hook 23 on its extreme upper end. The hooked upper end 23 of anchoring bolt 2| projects upwardly between the walls 6a of hinge bracket 5 and hooks over hinge pin l3 adjacent its outer end I312. The threaded lower end 22 of anchoring bolt 2| is also provided with a tensioning nut or burr l8 and coil compression spring l9 and matching cups 20.

If desired, washers 24 may be interposed between the cups 20 and the shelf 2. Also the open bottom ends of bearing brackets 5 and 5 may be sealed against moisture by means of gaskets 25.

In Fig. 5 I show a modified form of my invention wherein the seat 3 is provided with a rearwardly projecting hinge flange 26, the outer edge of which is adapted to lie in close proximity to the inner face 2'! of hinge bracket 5 and which is approximately one-half the width of the space between hinge bracket 5 and hinge bracket 5.

Hinge flange 25 is provided with a laterally extended pivot pin or trunnion 28 which is journalled in the aperture of the hinge bracket 5. On its opposite side hinge bracket 26 is provided with an inwardly extended bore 29 which is co-axial with the pivot pin 28. Cover 4 is provided with a rearwardly extending hinge flange 30 which extends laterally between the flange 26 and the hinge bracket 6. The hinge flange 39 is provided with outwardly extending co-axial trunnions or pivot pins 3| and 32 which are journalled in the aperture of the hinge bracket 6 and in the bore 29 respectively. In all other respects the structure of Fig. 5 is identical with that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive.

From the above, it will be obvious that by tightening or loosening the nut 18 on the threaded end l6 of anchoring bolt l5, the coil spring 59 will be compressed against the bottom of shelf 2, thereby acquiring any desired degree of frictional engagement between the hooked portion l1 and the extended end 12a of tubular sleeve i2 which is connected to the cover 4, Portion lZa of sleeve 12 is thus forced into tight frictional engagement with the bottom of apertures I and hinge brackets 5 Because the hinge pin :3 is journalled in portion lZa of tubular sleeve l2, no frictional braking action is brought to bear against the pin I3 by clamping bolt l5.

Likewise to apply frictional braking action to the seat 3, nut 18 is tightened on the screwthreaded lower end 22 of the clamping bolt 2|. It is again obvious that no braking action is applied to the cover 4 by the tightening of nut 21 because the tubular sleeve I2 is laterally offset from the aperture 8 of hinge bracket 6.

By this novel construction and arrangement of parts any desired amount of braking friction can be applied to the pivotal connections of both the seat and cover 3 and 4, so as to control their movements from a horizontal to a vertical position.

What I claim is:

1. A friction hinge construction for independently connecting a toilet seat element and a toilet cover element to one another and to an underlying toilet bowl, said friction hinge construction comprising laterally spaced hinge brackets carried by said bowl and having aligned apertures,

lugs carried by the other of said elements and projecting one on the outer side of each of said hinge brackets, a hinge pin secured to one of said spaced hinge lugs journalled for rotation in said tubular hinge sleeve, and having one end seated in the aperture of the other of said hinge brackets, a pair of spaced anchoring bolts extending loose- 1y through said bowl adjacent said spaced bearing brackets, said anchoring bolts being equipped with head acting portions, one of which frictionally engages the hinge sleeve, and the other of which frictionally engages the hinge pin, and means on the opposite end of said anchoring bolts for yieldingly biasing the bolts in a direction to cause frictional braking engagement between said hinge pin and hinge sleeve and its respective bearing seat.

2. A friction hinge construction for independently connecting a toilet seat and cover to one another and to an underlying toilet bowl, said friction hinge construction comprising laterally spaced hinge brackets carried by the bowl and having aligned apertures, a hinge flange carried by the cover projecting rearwardly between and in close proximity to said spaced hinge brackets, a horizontal passage through said flange coaxial with the aligned apertures in the hinge brackets, a tubular hub projecting laterally from the flange and forming an extension of said passage and seated in the aperture of one of said hinge brackets, a pair of laterally spaced hinge lugs carried by the seat and projecting rearwardly in close proximity to the outer sides of said spaced hinge brackets, a hinge pin journalled for rotation in the horizontal passage in the hinge flange carried by the cover and seated in the aperture in the other of said hinge brackets, the opposite ends of said hinge pins being secured to the spaced hinge lugs carried by the seat, a pair of spaced, anchoring bolts extending loosely through portions of said bowl, one adjacent each of said bearing brackets, said anchoring bolts being equipped with head-acting portions, the head of one of which frictionally engages the tubular hub, and the head of the other of which frictionally engages the hinge pin, and means on the opposite end of said anchoring bolts for yieldingly biasing the bolts in a direction to cause frictional braking engagement between said tubular hub and hinge pin and its respective seat.

3. The structure defined in claim 2 in which the horizontal passage through the hinge flange carried by the cover and the laterally projecting tubular hub are in the nature of an integrally formed sleeve.

PETER J. SPERZEL.

No references cited. 

